THE final link in the walking track from Island Bay to Levin has been completed with the opening of the Pukeatua Track at the weekend.
The Pukeatua Track, extending from Otaki Forks to Waikanae, was opened by the Conservation Minister, Kate Wilkinson, and already it is proving popular. More than 100 people braved wet conditions on Saturday to be the first to walk the 14 kilometre walkway, the fastest completing the distance in five and-a-half hours. It is expected to normally take seven hours to walk.
Clelia Lind of the Tararua Wellington Trust walked part of the track and she’s enthusiastic the final link between Wellington and Levin has been completed.
“It’s a lovely track,” Lind says. “It runs through some beautiful surroundings, through bush and grasslands with spectacular views of the Tararua ranges and the Southern Crossing. It’s going to prove very popular with day trampers from New Zealand and overseas.”
She says it also forms part of the five-day tramp through some of the more remote parts of the Tararua Ranges from Levin to Otaki Forks.
Lind says a “moderate” level of fitness is required – “I guess your fitness will determine your level of enjoyment,” although there are shorter walks just as enjoyable.
“Starting from Otaki Forks you walk up a few ridges and false peaks to get to Pukeatua at 812 metres. It’s about a three hour walk and you get to sit on a grassy ridge with views of the Otaki Fork and Tararua ranges. It’s an great place to stop for a spot of lunch.”
She says an ideal way to complete the whole 14 kilometres is to have friends starting at both ends and swapping car keys midway.
The Pukeatua Track is part of the government’s Long Pathway programme which aims to complete a network of tracks from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Lind says completion of the Pukeatua section was only made possible after many hours of planning by Wellington Te Araroa Trust members and Ministry of Conservation staff. She’s particularly grateful for the support of local landowners John and Mary Carter who made the track possible by agreeing to grant access across a section of their land.
The Ministry of Conservation says plans are being made to make improvements to the first five kilometres of the popular Waitewaewae Track in the Tararua Forest Park over next summer.